Subsistence Supply of the Urban Population of Western Siberia in the Days of the Great Patriotic War
| 05 September 2024
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Cheremnykh О.А.,
Tomsk, Russian Federation
Subsistence Supply of the Urban Population of Western Siberia in the Days of the Great Patriotic War
Abstract
The article describes subsistence supply of the population of Western Siberia in the days of the Great Patriotic War. Since the early months of the war the food supply was an acute problem. Due to loss of farmland, the role of western areas of the USSR, and Western Siberia in particular, increased, as it provided subsistence for both front and rear. Morover, swell of the urban population caused by evacuation worsened the situation in the region. The authorities attempted to solve the problem by introducing ration cards system and establishing closed distribution though the working supply departments (ORS - otdel rabochego snabzhenija), and also by organizing public eating places: canteens, diners, luncheonettes. These measures allowed keep consumption rates very low. As a result, there sprang up a decentralized supplies system basing on industrial subsidiary plots and private vegetable gardens. Required foods could be found at the city markets. Food trading at the markets was authorized in the wartime. Yet the prices increased several-fold. Under the circumstances the exchange of goods (barter trade) was wide spread. The research is based on a variety of historical sources. Several archival documents are introduced into scientific use for the first time. The research is based on analytical, historical, comparative, and generalization methods.
Keywords
Sources, ration cards system, decentralized supplies system, Great Patriotic War, Western Siberia, urban population.
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About the authors
Cheremnykh Olga Akekseevna, postgraduate of the Historical faculty of theTomskStateUniversity, +7-952-807-75-60, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it